Metal and Magic: A Fantasy Journey

by Steve Windsor

  Do you feel it yet? Strip away the veil of the world that isn’t, so you can peer into the world that is.

  Vannera concentrated and then opened her eyes, which had been closed up until that moment. In front of her she could see the form of a rope fade in and out of visibility as it swung from side to side, between her and Matilom. Pieces of the rope would appear and then suddenly dissolve back into nothingness. She looked up and could see the tree branch from which the rope had been tied. Parts of the rope tied around the branch could be seen, but others couldn’t.

  You have a hold of it Vannera. Now, tear it down.

  Vannera took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, relaxing her nerves. As her eyes fell back downwards, the rope slowly dissolved into visibility, and she could see all of it. As her eyes leveled, she saw the smooth spherical rock that had been tied to the other end of the rope. Every time it swung past, it made a whooshing sound. Her perception of the ball was a bit distorted but when it came into complete focus she could see it clearly. Vannera breathed heavily in excitement. At this time Matilom opened his eyes as well.

  “Invigorating isn’t it?” He smiled at her.

  “Yes!” Vannera said still breathing heavily. “Yes, yes it is.” She looked around her smiling and then back at Matilom.

  “Teach me more.” She said with a look of enthusiasm on her face. Matilom smiled again.

  “A bit at a time dear one. For now practice what I’ve thought you. When you master it, come back to me.” Matilom picked up his walking stick and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he rose.

  “You can release the spell now Leo.” He said as he walked over to Baximus. Leo walked over to Vannera and grabbed hold of the invisible string. It quickly became visible again to everyone there.

  Davydd wore a look of shock as he saw the average sized smooth rock attached to the rope. He turned to Matilom.

  “Isn’t that... dangerous?” He asked still bewildered.

  “Don’t trouble yourself boy!” Said Matilom chuckling. “We are all in this together, and you are not the only one working hard to get stronger. Your friends are all working hard too. This very moment, Segmiatus trains with Sam.”

  “With Sam? I thought they would practically kill each other.” Davydd said laughing.

  He caught Vannera’s warm smile at him and returned it. Her smile broadened and she walked to him and wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. Vannera pulled her head back a bit and whispered in his ear.

  “Walk with me.”

  Davydd smiled and looked back at Baximus and Matilom.

  “Well off you go now.” Baximus said smiling.

  “Don’t stray too far.” Matilom added.

  Both Davydd and Vannera nodded and walked off, holding hands.

  Baximus watched them go for a little while.

  “Your love for the boy is great.” Matilom said, cutting Baximus away from his thoughts.

  “Of course I do. He is my son after all. I love him like my own flesh and blood.” Baximus rubbed his chest area, where Davydd had slammed his foot on him, during their training session.

  “He also can deliver a brutal kick too. It is strange, it was much harder than I expected, and considering the position from which he delivered it.”

  “He improves quickly.”

  “He does, exceedingly so. And his friend, Segmiatus’s recovery is strangely remarkable.”

  “Do you think he’s ready now?”

  Baximus shook his head.

  “No. Not yet. He is still a rough diamond yet to be properly polished.”

  Matilom nodded.

  “And yet, a diamond he is.” The wizard said as darkness began to creep over the forest.

  CHAPTER EIGHT: A god is here

  The small room’s sole source of illumination was the oil lamp that had been set up on a high book shelf on the right most wall of the room. It cast its flickering light across the room, but left parts of the room poorly illuminated as well. An elderly man lay on the bed breathing shallowly. He was surrounded by three women and two men. Their facial expressions conveyed the emotions of sorrow they felt. One of the women was in a kneeling position beside the bed. She constantly dipped some cloth into a bowl of water, squeezed out the water into another bowl and then used the moist cloth to wipe the perspiration from the elderly man’s forehead. The elderly man was too weak to talk and any last words to be said between him and his loved ones had already been said. In this moment, it was a wait for death. The woman looked at the man’s eyes which were beginning to flicker underneath his eye lids.

  “He’s... leaving...” She said in a tone that almost conveyed disbelief as it surely conveyed the supreme confidence of one who had seen this happen time and time again. She stood back and let the other women, a wife and a sister, along with the two men, a brother and a son come closer and mourn the loss of their loved one at the hour of his passing. The women held the elderly man’s hands and sobbed and cried on his chest, while the men tried to console them, scarcely able to console themselves as well.

  “No! Stop! Don’t cry! I’m fine!” The old man practically yelled at his family and yet they sobbed on.

  “Has false grief made you lose your hearing?” He asked slightly infuriated. The elderly man looked at his wife who was sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Aga!” He yelled.

  “The grief is not false.” The voice came from the left side of the room. The elderly man cocked his head to the left and his eyes beheld a beautiful lady in a green dress, with brown hair. She had wide gold bracelets on either hand, with gold and silver finger armor on her index and middle fingers, also on either hand. The lady got up and walked towards him. As she walked, her feet hovered slightly above the floor of the room. She stopped by the now trembling elderly man’s bed. He looked around at his still sobbing relatives and then back at the lady. No one seemed to be paying them any attention.

  “W...What are you?” He asked frightened.

  “I see. What you ask, instead of Who?”

  “No human I have seen, does that.” The old man looked at the lady’s feet, which were still hovering slightly above the ground. She smiled dryly and reached out her hand towards him.

  “You are dead. Your last breath was taking only moments ago. I have been waiting patiently while you struggled futilely with what little mortal strength you had left. Come, let us depart.”

  “I can’t.” Replied the old man as he motioned to his family members, who were either holding his hands or resting their head on his chest. The woman let out a sigh of exasperation and pulled the elderly man up by his arm. The man felt himself yanked right through his relations who were still letting out loud cries and wails on and around him. He staggered on his feet and looked behind him, towards his relations. He beheld himself lying still and lifeless while his family shed tears around him. The wailing had quieted down to painful moans. He turned back to the lady in front of him.

  “I can’t leave them like this.”

  The brown haired lady stared at him for a little while before speaking.

  “You’ve already left them.”

  “But... what happens to them? Look! Look at them!”

  “They will mourn, they will grieve and in time, their pain will ease and they will smile again.”

  “They will forget me?” The elderly man asked as he was overcome with sadness.

  “No Soma... They will remember you.” The reality of the moment crashed on the man with the force of a thousand oceans. He turned back to look at his family one more time. His gaze rested on his wife who was staring off into the distance, not really looking at anything. However in that moment, it was as though she was looking at him. He leaned in and his essence touched her lips in a final kiss. Her eyes closed as tears fell effortlessly and her lips slightly moved in an unknown response. Soma pulled back.

  “Let’s go.” He got up and walked up to the lady, stopping beside her. The lady turned around to face the left most wall and lifted
up her right hand, with her index finger pointing at nothing in particular. She used her index finger to draw a vertical line from a height about eye level all the way to the ground, bending down to complete the line as she did. Soma saw that it was more of a very straight tear than a line. The tear expanded as a bright glowing light emanated from the gap it caused. The light was a fast pulsating one that suddenly weakened and then stopped when the opening had completed its expansion. On the other side was a bare rocked muddy cliff that was battered by large rain drops. The woman began walking through the rectangular opening and was closely followed by Soma, who trembled at every sound he heard. Large bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by immensely loud claps of thunder. Some lightning bolts struck the cliff side which opened up to a titanic gap in the earth. The gap was filled with what seemed to be boiling blackish water. Soma shivered from the sharp cold which he felt as he walked through the storm. As if reading his emotions, the lady spoke as she led the way to a swaying wooden bridge.

  “Do not be afraid. Soon you’ll realize that it isn’t a chill you feel, but fear itself.”

  “How do you know this?”

  The lady stopped by the edge of the bridge and motioned for him to begin walking across.

  “I had to realize it for myself too.” She finally replied.

  The man approached the bridge cautiously and observed it sway wildly in the wind from side to side. He finally shook his head.

  “There has to be another way across.”

  “This is the only way.” The brown haired lady said calmly. “This is your test. If your wrong doings way heavily on your soul, the bridge will snap and you will live out the rest of eternity among the lost souls.”

  Soma looked down and saw that there were numerous faces and limbs breaking the surface of the black boiling water. He heard the screams of anguish and pain coming from them and he saw some mangled and twisted bodies try to crawl out of the ocean. They tried to crawl up the steep sides of the cliff, but the slippery cliff did not cooperate and soon they were plummeting back down. However, they looked like they had lost all reason and sense and were more beastly in nature than man.

  “Feona help us.” The man said, wrapping his hands around himself.

  “Fear again. You are not cold.”

  “What is happening down there?”

  “They are caught in the hell of their worst fears, their worst thoughts, the most gruesome images their minds can conjure, and their worst regrets.”

  “So...”

  “Walk.” The lady said in a stern commanding voice that still somehow maintained calmness about it. Soma stepped on the bridge and began to cross it. He was followed closely by the lady who seemed to be unaffected by the violent sways and unsteadiness of the bridge. He struggled to hold his balance and he stumbled this way and that, constantly. They walked for a long time in silence. Finally, they got to the other side of the bridge. The old man rushed unto the other side of the cliff and stumbled upon grass. He looked up and saw a lush green field that extended unto a downward slope. There were mountains in the distance, with snow caps at the peaks. A cool and refreshing breeze blew by gently from the right side of the land to the left. At the valley, which started at the edge of the slope, there was a small town, which looked to have inhabitants.

  “Where is this?” Soma asked.

  “This is Hovan. It is your new home.”

  “This? This is paradise?”

  “Yes. What you see is only a small part of it. Follow me.” The woman grabbed the elderly man’s hand and they walked back towards the edge they had just come from. Instead of the unsteady bridge and troubling sight beneath it, what met them was a view much like that of a clear starry night. The sight was one to behold. The old man could see each realm as a gigantic spherical body moving slowly across the space of all that is. Occasionally, flashes of lights so long it would take eons to traverse them, would shoot from one realm to the other and instantly be gone.

  “What are those?” Soma asked quizzically.

  “Those are beings crossing over from one dimension to the next.”

  “Beings? Not human?”

  The lady nodded.

  “They are so far... so far away. How is it that I can see them so clearly?”

  “You are a creature of life herself are you not? You are a creation of one of the seven great gods aren’t you? This power has always been yours. You just did not know it.”

  Soma stared at all before him, still in awe.

  “Come. You are a free spirit now and an element of all that is. You have all of eternity to experience everything you wish to. Become whatever you wish to be. Eventually, you will find that everything you discover helps them.” The lady pointed at another realm hovering slowly, below the other realms. Though Soma had never seen it before, he instantly knew that it was Terrianus. The old man smiled at her and nodded. He turned around and slowly made his way to the town situated at the valley. The lady watched him for a while and then reached out her right index finger, drawing another tear from eye level all the way to the ground. The opening expanded as before, and she stepped through it. She emerged on the other side and stepped into a dark area with no apparent walls or edges around it. It was completely black except for a glittering path that went forward in a straight line for a few meters and then expanded into a large circular glittering floor. Standing there was a tall slender woman with long black hair that fell to about shoulder length. It was straight and glistened from the glittering lights on the floor. She wore a long sleeveless dark brown gown that fell all the way to her feet flowingly. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a diamond pendant attached to it. She wore a full gauntlet on her right hand. It was a black and brown colored metallic gauntlet with engraved patterns on the part that covered the wrist and the palms. She also had black metallic boots that were sharply pointed at the toe area.

  “I see you are back. Did the guidance go smoothly?” The slender woman asked.

  The brown haired lady sighed irritably.

  “He was full of questions.”

  The lady with the black hair turned around and smiled. Her skin was a bit pale and her bright red eyes beheld the brown haired lady for a moment.

  “You were like that too when I came for you.” She finally said in response.

  “My passing was not particularly pleasant.”

  “It would have made little difference. I have guided souls for thousands and thousands of years. Have you ever been asked by a little infant why the world is so cruel?”

  The brown haired lady gasped at the thought; while the other lady encircled her letting the notion sink in properly.

  “Yes Jaynea. An infant killed by an uncle who should help protect it. Instead, greed made him dismiss to the afterlife the heir to his older brother’s riches. For if he could keep his brother childless, he and his family would inherit it all. Believe me when I say to you, that your death was a kindness compared to all I’ve seen of your kind.”

  “You shouldn’t be so harsh with her Feona.”

  Both women turned around to see a tall lady with golden colored hair and a glistening white and blue dress walk graciously and elegantly towards them. She radiated a warm light that while not blinding was glorious and brilliant at the same time. Jaynea stood transfixed and unable to turn her gaze away from the stunningly beautiful woman whose bronze like skin evoked an unparalleled strength and regality. Her light brown eyes beheld Jaynea lovingly as she walked up to both her and Feona. Feona’s face wore a slight expression of malice as she spoke. “Dear sister of mine. To what do I owe the honor of you gracing my chambers?”

  “Your sarcasm knows no bounds does it? I come to converse with you sister. I have certain worries to share.”

  “And what worries you Lynda?”

  “Events that threaten to happen soon. There is a force of death heading Davydd’s way.”

  “Oh how did you come about this? I was just on my way.”

  “I have
not the time for games Feona. I must warn them without interfering.”

  “And yet you are divided for you have other pressing matters to take care of.”

  Lynda looked away, unable to come up with a response. Feona sighed.

  “Don’t worry Lynda. I go to do what you won’t do.”

  “Feona, you know we have sworn not to steer the hand of fate.”

  Feona, who had already opened up another tear and was walking towards it, stopped and looked back at Lynda.

  “We all steer the hand of fate one way or another, gods and humans alike. What are you prepared to do?” And with that she turned around and continued to walk through the opening.

  “Come Jaynea. This promises after all, to be the moment you have been waiting for.”

  Jaynea nodded and followed suit. The opening closed behind them and the light was gone. All that was left was the goddess Lynda and the glistening floor lights that illuminated her sister’s rather dark chambers.

  Davydd and Vannera laughed out loud as they lay in each other’s arms on the forest bed. The space above them was also clear of blocking branches and leaves and as such, they could gaze upon the night sky.

  “All of my life in that castle, I never once did anything like this.” Vannera said still chuckling a bit.

  “Of course you didn’t princess. You were too busy being betrothed to every prince and man of note in Terrianus.” Davydd said jokingly. Vannera sat up and observed him briefly.

  “Is that jealously I sense?”

  “Me? Jealous? Oh no. You haven’t made vows with any of them have you? Have you?” Davydd nuzzled her tenderly and she giggled, embracing him.

  “You are silly aren’t you?” She smiled at him, rubbing his cheek with her right hand. Davydd leaned in and kissed her and in that moment they were again lost in each other. The kisses were long and passionate and eventually got frenetic as they clawed at each other, desperately hungry for more. Davydd rolled on top of her and the lower part of her dress fell to her waist, exposing her thighs. Davydd gasped as his eyes took in all of her. She rested her palm on his chest.